Absorbent tissue products such as paper towels, facial tissues, bath tissues and other similar products are designed to include several important properties. For example, the products should have good bulk, a soft feel and should be highly absorbent. In addition, the products should also have sufficient strength for the particular application and environment in which they are to be used.
In the past, those skilled in the art have developed various processes for enhancing and improving various properties of tissue products. For example, in order to increase bulk and improve softness, tissue products have been subjected to creping processes. For example, in one embodiment, a creping adhesive is sprayed onto a rotating drum, such as a Yankee dryer. A tissue web is then adhered to the outside surface as the drum is rotating. A creping blade is then used to remove the tissue web from the surface of the drum. Creping the web from the drum compacts the web and can break fiber to fiber bonds which both increases the bulk and softness of the product.
The present disclosure is directed to further improvements in web creping processes. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to process that can not only be used to crepe base sheets but can also be used to incorporate useful additives into the base sheets in amounts sufficient to improve the properties of the sheets.